Apparatus and Method for Driving Plasma Display Panel

1. An apparatus for driving a plasma display panel having a plurality of scan electrodes and common electrodes arranged in pairs, and a panel capacitor formed between each scan electrode and common electrode, the apparatus comprising: a sustain part including a first swich and a second switch that are each coupled in series between a first voltage and a second voltage, and a third switch and a fourth switch that are each coupled in series between the first voltage and the second voltage, a coupling node of the first switch and a coupling node of the second switch being each coupled to one end of the panel capacitor, a coupling node of the third switch and a coupling node of the fourth switch being each coupled to the other end of the panel capacitor, the sustain part maintaining a voltage of the one end of the panel capacitor and a voltage of the other end of the panel capacitor at the first voltage or the second voltage; and a charging/discharging part including an inductor with one inductor end coupled to the coupling node of the first switch and the coupling node of the second switch through a first path and to the coupling node of the third switch and the coupling node of the fourth switch through a second path, and an external capacitor coupled between the other end of the inductor and the second voltage through a third path and a fourth path, the charging/discharging part charging the voltage of one end of the panel capacitor and the voltage of the other end thereof with the first voltage or discharging the voltage of the one end of the panel capacitor and the voltage of the other end of the panel capacitor to the second voltage.

2. The apparatus for driving a plasma display panel of claim 1 , further comprising a fifth switch and a sixth switch that are each coupled between the panel capacitor and the inductor through the first path and the second path, respectively, to select a path of current flowing through the panel capacitor from the first path and the second path.

3. The apparatus for driving a plasma display panel of claim 2 , wherein each of the first switch, second switch, third switch, fourth switch, fifth switch and sixth switch has a body diode.

4. The apparatus for driving a plasma display panel of claim 1 , further comprising a fifth switch and a first diode that are located on the third path to set a path of current supplied to the panel capacitor, and a sixth switch and a second diode that are located on the fourth path to set a path of current recovered from the panel capacitor.

5. A method for driving a plasma display panel having a panel capacitor with both ends supplied with a first voltage and a second voltage alternately, and having an external capacitor supplied with a voltage corresponding to a middle level between the first voltage and the second voltage, and an inductor coupled to the external capacitor, the method comprising: (a) charging a voltage of one end of the panel capacitor up to the first voltage using resonance that is generated when the inductor is coupled to one end of the panel capacitor through a first path; (b) discharging a voltage of one end of the panel capacitor to the second voltage using resonance that occurs when the inductor is coupled to one end of the panel capacitor through the first path; (c) charging a voltage of the other end of the panel capacitor up to the first voltage using resonance that is generated when the inductor is coupled to the other end of the panel capacitor through a second path; and (d) discharging the voltage of the other end of the panel capacitor to the second voltage using resonance generated when the inductor is coupled to the other end of the panel capacitor through the second path.

6. The method for driving a plasma display panel of claim 5 , wherein charging a voltage of one end of the panel capacitor up to the first voltage further comprises maintaining the voltage of one end of the panel capacitor at the first voltage using a first switch and a second switch that are each coupled in series between the first voltage and the second voltage, and a third switch and a fourth switch that are each coupled in series between the first voltage and the second voltage, with a coupling node of the first swtich and a coupling node of the second switch being each coupled to one end of the panel capacitor and a coupling node of the third switch and a coupling node of the fourth switch each being coupled to the other end of the panel capacitor, and wherein charging a voltage of the other end of the panel capacitor up to the first voltage further comprises maintaining the voltage of the other end of the panel capacitor at the first voltage using the first switch, the second switch, the third switch and the fourth switch.

7. The method for driving a plasma display panel of claim 6 , wherein each of the first switch, second switch, third switch and fourth switch has a body diode.

8. The method for driving a plasma display panel of claim 5 , wherein a path of current flowing through the panel capacitor is selected from the first path and the second path using a first switch and a second switch that are respectively coupled to the first path and the second path.

9. The method for driving a plasma display panel of claim 8 , wherein each of the first switch and the second switch has a body diode.

10. An apparatus for driving a plasma display panel including a first electrode and a second electrode, and a panel capacitor formed between the first electrode and the second electrode, the apparatus comprising: a power source supplying a first voltage; an inductor; a first current path formed from the power source to the first electrode via the inductor to generate a resonance between the panel capacitor and the inductor, thereby changing the voltage of the first electrode to a second voltage, while the voltage of the second electrode is maintained to a third voltage; a second current path formed from the first electrode to the power source via the inductor to generate a resonance between the panel capacitor and the inductor, thereby changing the voltage of the first electrode to the third voltage, while the voltage of the second electrode is maintained to the third voltage; a third current path formed from the power source to the second electrode via the inductor to generate a resonance between the panel capacitor and the inductor, thereby changing the voltage of the second electrode to the second voltage, while the voltage of the first electrode is maintained to the third voltage; and a fourth current path formed from the second electrode to the power source via the inductor to generate a resonance between the panel capacitor and the inductor, thereby changing the voltage of the second electrode to the third voltage, while the voltage of the first electrode is maintained to the third voltage.

11. The apparatus for driving a plasma display panel of claim 10 , wherein the first electrode is coupled to a first power source supplying the second voltage after the voltage of the first electrode is changed to the second voltage, and is coupled to a second power source supplying the third voltage after the voltage of the first electrode is change to the third voltage.

12. The apparatus for driving a plasma display panel of claim 10 , wherein the second electrode is coupled to the first power source after the voltage of the second electrode is changed to the second voltage, and is coupled to the second power source after the voltage of the second electrode is change to the third voltage.